Mojang, the makers of Minecraft have just put their online trading card game, Scrolls, into open beta. When I say open beta, I mean its open like minecraft was. You have to pay for the game, but its a full game that they will keep working on and you get updates forever for no extra cost. Just like minecraft, the sooner you get in the cheaper it is. It costs $20.95 in the US.
Official site:
https://scrolls.com/
Official Forums
http://www.scrollsfans.com/
Official Trailer
My initial verdict is if you like TCGs you will like Scrolls, with a few caveats.
- It has some extra mechanics since its a video game. An extra twist that highly strategic players will enjoy, but if you want traditional TCG play you may not. I will explain below
- Since it's a video game you will never get to hold the cards in your hands. You can still collect and trade cards to play with, but they are still just pixels.
Trading card games IRL are by definition pay to win. You have to buy cards to play with and if you have lots of money to spend on them you can get all the cards you need or want. Scrolls is very much NOT pay to win. There is almost no way to buy scrolls with real money. I say almost because there is one instance where you can in VERY limited amounts. I will discuss this when I talk about the store.
Scrolls has an interesting video game element. There is a game board where the game actually plays out.
The goal of the game is to destroy at least 3 of your opponents Idols. Idols are those little statues to the left and right of the hex game board. They usually start with 10 health. The way you destroy them is to play creatures that can attack when their set number of turns is up. Of course there are scrolls to destroy creatures, block creatures, augment creatures, etc.
I mentioned a caveat that there is a twist some classic TCG players would not like. That twist is that your creatures usually have movement around the hex board. Most times you can move your creatures only 1 hex at a time. This adds another layer you can use or have to defend against. In other TCGs you can block damage or whatever, but in this game it is possible for you to set up a perfect block and your opponent side steps it causing you damage. Like I said, some will like it some won't.
Another thing that is new and interesting is the resource system. Instead of having land cards or whatever that you play to gain resources, you up to 1 of your cards in your hand each turn and it becomes a resource. Sacrificing and then playing cards makes your hand dwindle to nothing very quickly. There is a way around this, you can sacrifice a scroll to gain the next 2 from the deck instead of sacrificing for a resource. This makes deck and hand management a big part of early game so you can get enough resources to play scrolls, yet still have good scrolls in your hand to play.
How the game works:
On your turn you can do up to 3 things
- Sacrifice a scroll for either 1 resource or 2 new scrolls
- Play scrolls to the board. Creatures and structures are summoned and placed, enchants are placed on those creatures or structures, or spells are cast.
- Move creatures or structures, if allowed, to another hex.
How to win:
Like I said above, the goal is to destroy the opponents idols. This is usually done by creatures attacking them. You have to contend with a few things though. Your creatures attack in a straight line across the board so they can be blocked. Also only a few special creatures attack every turn, most have to wait a few turns to attack. That is determined by a cool-down listed on the scroll.
Lets look at a creature scroll.
The iron ogre is a very powerful creature. At the top of the card you see their resource cost. Below the portrait there is 3 numbers. The number on the left next to the sword is the attack. If you make this creature hit something it will do 7 points of damage. The middle number is the cooldown, which is 3 in this case. That means it will only attack every 3rd round. Finally on the right, next to the heart, is the creature's health. The iron ogre has 7. Health is never regenerated unless a scroll that heals is played. This way you can wear down creatures and structures to get at the idols behind them. Below those numbers is the flavor text and any special abilities that the scroll has. The iron ogre has relentless which is a strong ability in itself.
There are also structure scrolls which work as a way to protect or block your idols from incoming damage. They can also have a secondary use like healing or damaging creatures and other structures.
Notice the Ancestral totem not only will block 3 damage, it will also make all your creatures attack with +1 attack.
Next there are enchant scrolls. These augment creatures or structures. They can only be played on creatures or structures on the board including your opponents. Enchants stack
Here is a kinfolk brave with lots of enchants on it, notice the tabs on the left of the scroll.
Notice how on the card the attack and health are 2 each, but the creature on the board is enchanted up to 7 attack and health.
Finally there are spells. Spells can be cast weither or not there is anything on the board. They can do all kinds of things like deal damage, move creatures or structures, root them too.
The game is all about placing scrolls while gaining resources so you can eventually destroy the opponents idols. This makes any scroll that gives you more cards or resources very powerful. Like most TCGs you can build decks around specific play styles. In fact there are 3 deck types that embody general play types. Growth, Order, and Energy.
When you first start the game up you have to choose one of the 3 starter decks without playing a single game. Here are some general ideas of each deck's playstyle.
Growth is an aggressive deck. You put out lots of creatures, usually low cost and low damage/health. You also can augment those pretty easily. Very little defense.
Order is the control type deck. You don't focus on lots of creatures or lots of defense, but on dictating where your opponent plays. Lots of ranged attacks will keep your opponent from placing and holding on hexes unless they can counter your creatures.
Energy is more of the defensive deck. Lots of synergy that makes it advantageous to occupy and hold lanes then when you are ready attack in force.
Right now energy is said to be the most OP of the decks, but mojang will be coming out with more scrolls and more decks as time goes on. I chose growth.
Getting more scrolls:
What is a TCG without getting more cards? Scrolls has an in game shop where you buy more cards with in game gold you earn for winning matches. Matches against the computer, other players, and tutorial games called trials all win you gold. Oh and the game starts you out with 2000 gold just because.
You can buy scrolls in packs of 10 random, or single randoms of each deck type. I think as you are building your first deck its better to buy the individuals for your deck type since the 10 pack will not give you 10 scrolls you can use, but also scrolls from other decks.
I mentioned that the game is not pay to win. You can't buy scrolls with real money except for in one area. Each week the game gives you a chance to buy 6 individual scrolls. These 6 can be bought with gold or shards which you buy for real money. These 6 cards are refreshed every week if you buy any or not.
The other thing you can buy with shards is avatars. There isn't much of a reason to unless you really like one, and there isn't (right now) any other use for shards. Not worth it unless they add more into the game to buy.
Not only can you buy or sell scrolls at the store, there is a full blown trading interface in game.
You can trade with anyone in the chat and even trade scrolls for gold. If you get lucky with randoms you can easily make enough gold to buy the cards you want.
So that's about it. Scrolls is a trading card game that has some video game elements to spice it up. It has a robust trading system and you don't have to pay to win. It's made by Mojang so I am pretty confident they will put the time and effort into supporting and improving the game for years to come. If you want to trade or challenge me to a game my tag is That1Guy.
